I plan to have an investment. After doing some research, I settled on starting a grocery store because vegetables are scarce in our village. To achieve this goal, I am planning to borrow some money from a merry-go-round investment where we pull resources together with friends. In this merry-go-round, a member is allowed to borrow some money and pay it back with an interest of 10 percent of the total amount borrowed.

Initially, I did not have any investment. I could not afford to buy some livestock or afford nice beds for my family. What I would echo is that GiveDirectly is an empowering organization that enables people to do things that they thought were undoable due to how their living situation.

The main challenge that my life was facing was shelter. My family of 9 used to sleep on mats placed on the ground because we did not have beds. When I got the second transfer, I bought three modern standard beds for $125. One of the beds belonged to me and my husband, the second one was for my three sons and the third bed was for my four daughters. Currently, my family is happy with the upgrade they feel from sleeping on the ground to a modern standard bed, it is truly an achievement. I also paid $60 school fees for my six primary school children so that they could not be sent home for fees but instead concentrate on their studies. Since I had started investing in goats from the first transfer, I saw it prudent to add two more goats whose cost was $70. For the remaining amount, my husband and I agreed to keep it for the family's upkeep because our sources of income are not consistent. My husband is a casual laborer and I rely on making and selling charcoals.

It was around 4.50 pm while I was at home ready to start preparing for an evening meal when I heard a message tone on my phone. Upon checking, I saw a huge amount of money which I have never received before. I was not sure whether it was legit or a scam, thus I called my helper who came and confirmed that it was the first transfer from GiveDirectly. I felt so happy and I rejoiced knowing that, some of the life hurdles which I was facing were going to be solved.

For a while, as a family, we had been sleeping on the floor because we lacked the money to purchase some beds and nice bedding. Poverty made my children to be often sent out of school due to school fees as well as sleeping hungry due to lack of food. As of now, I am very grateful for the support that I received from GiveDorectly. It enabled me to buy some beds and mattresses and we are no longer sleeping on the floor. I also managed to pay school fees for my children and they are now taking their studies comfortably not as before. In addition to that, they have an access to food and we are living happily as a family.

Upon withdrawing the money, the first thing I thought of was to invest in livestock. Based on that, I bought five goats for KES 13150.00. I also bought two beds and two mattresses for KES 22000.00. The reason for buying these items was that for a long time my seven children and I have been sleeping on mats. Thereafter, I paid KES 5500.00 for school fees for my six primary school children; and used the remaining amount in buying some food for the family.